David Thornburgh is the President and CEO of Committee of Seventy, a Philadelphia-based nonpartisan advocate for good government founded in 1904. What do Pennsylvanians want and expect, either from presidential candidates or, for that matter, from the federal government? Key to answering those questions is understanding the underlying values that citizens of the commonwealth hold near and dear. And woe be to the candidate who fails to pay attention to the local nuances: 2004 Democratic candidate John Kerry ordering a cheesesteak with Swiss cheese (every Philadelphian knows Cheese Whiz is the only proper cheese product) or (heaven forbid) mispronouncing DuBois (DOO-boize) as Du-bwah. As a Scranton native, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden would seem to have an advantage here.

Source: CNN October 05, 2020 12:56 UTC